Just Let Go!!!

Yesterday we enjoyed our church's annual fall picnic. This is an event that we look forward to all year. The highlight this year was the rock climbing wall that was brought in for the day. I knew I wanted to take a turn, so I got in line and watched as young and, well, not as young, male and female climbed the wall then repelled back down. As I watched I thought it looked like lots of fun coming down. My turn finally came and I was strapped into the harness. A helmet was placed on my head and up I started to go. It wasn't quite as easy as some people before me had made it look, but I took my time and made it to the top.
I rang the bell and was ready to descend, but as I began to follow the directions and let go of the wall I felt like I was falling and held on all the more. The owner of the wall tried again to convince me, but fear had taken over reason. I began to climb back down the wall and he told me I was just going to make it harder for myself. It didn't matter, I was not letting go of the wall. When I had come down a little way he asked me to try it from there, but I was still too high. Finally I came down far enough for him to reach my feet. He said, "now let go." Even at that height I did not want to let go of that wall. I am still not sure if I finally gave in or if I was pulled off but, when I started to fall, wouldn't you know, that cable caught me and let me down gently. AMAZING!!!
Now logically I must have believed that the cables would protect me or I doubt I would have ascended the wall in the first place, but when the moment of truth came I didn't have enough faith in them to let go and let them do their job. It was like a knife in the heart as someone from my church family yelled, "just trust," and I had to admit that I didn't by climbing down. How many times do I do this in my "climb" with the Lord? He tells me, "just let go," but I want to hold on and try to do it myself. He says, "just trust me," and I hold on to the world. I humbly admit that I do this, and I pray the next time I need to let go He will bring this lesson to my mind along with the life circumstances, beyond my control, that He worked out that same day.
That's not the end of the story though. After a rest I went up the wall again, this time at a more difficult spot. I practiced my descent once from a low spot this time. When I was very near the top I became quite tired and almost quit where I was. I figured the real victory this time would be in trusting the cable to hold me on my way down. At the very moment I was about to let go I heard someone yell my name with a word of encouragement. Considering my lifelong struggle with feelings of discouragement and rejection this was clearly a provision from the Lord, and just what it took to spur me on to the top. Soon I heard, "ring the bell!" and then the words, "now just let go!" And I did!!!

Walking Together

When my family goes out for a hike it's often difficult to stay together. Some walk slow and some walk fast, and before you know it there's a gap between us. Someone eventually has to change their pace so we can get back together.

I have been a child of God for 31 years now. I wish I could say that I've walked close to Him constantly for each of those years, but like those hikes with my family I often get out of step. Sometimes I try to charge ahead recklessly while other times I drag my feet and lag behind.

I don't know what it is that I have been doing lately, but the path has been a bit dim. I know that God's pace is perfect and He is my light. It is obvious that I need to get back in rhythm with His steps, then the path will be bright again.

More time in the Word. More time in prayer. More time in fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. These are the remedies. It seems I need to pick up my spiritual pace. Perhaps I've gotten distracted by the scenes along the way, or maybe I am looking too far ahead and have become overwhelmed by the distance.

Praise God that He won't ever let me get too far "ahead" or too far behind. He is a loving Father who will always bring me back into the light.

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

True Love Knows When To Say, "No."

Why does a parent tell their young child not to touch an electric outlet or a hot stove. Isn't it because they possess knowledge that their kids lack, and they want to protect them from learning the hard way? Isn't it out of love that they desire to protect their offspring from injury? Would it be fun to get hit by a car? No, that's why parents tell their kids not to play in the street; because they know the consequences would be painful, harmful, and even fatal.

When God tells his children not to touch it's for the same reason. God didn't come up with a list of rules to take the fun out of life, he set boundaries to protect his children. God tells his children not to lie, steal, commit adultery, etc., because these things are contrary to his nature and will have harmful consequences. These behaviors only cause pain. God is not a killjoy. On the contrary He wants us to experience life to the fullest, and that can only be done within the boundaries that he, in his infinite wisdom and perfection, has set.

Just like a child will test their parents boundaries to see what will happen if they touch the hot stove, so we as humans test God's boundaries. The child will learn that there are consequences. Either the parent will intervene with a disciplinary measure, or the child will experience the natural effect of their behavior. So it is with us; either God will intervene to prevent us from going any farther down the path of sinful behavior, or we will undergo the pain that our disobedience brings. Only He knows which will most effectively teach us to abide in him and imitate his Son.

The Bible tells us that only those who trust in Jesus as the sacrifice for their sins will enter eternal life. John 14:6 NIV "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" Those who refuse to receive Jesus choose the path of destruction. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14 NIV

God is good! He made a way for us to be saved; after all "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6 NIV. When we receive salvation he sends us help in the form of the Holy Spirit to help us follow him. He disciplines us because he is a loving Father. He showers us with grace and mercy. He gives us his word to show us how to live. Praise be to God who reaches out to us so that we can reach out to him"We love him, because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19 KJV

Harmony Rings

Harmony Rings began simply as my online user name for You Tube and then various other web sites. I chose it because musical harmony appeals to me both as a listener and as a singer. However, as I ponder the name I realize that it penetrates much deeper that what the ear can perceive.

As a child of God I desire for my life's song to be a harmony in God's great symphony. As I work together with my brothers and sisters in Christ the part I am playing should compliment theirs, and we should all be meticulously in tune with God's word. At times I may be asked to play a lead and I pray that I will play it well. At other times my part will be almost undetectable to the world, but I know that it is important to my Father's perfect arrangement and I ask him to help me to execute it with precision. There may be times when my function in the score will be to rest. I pray that I will do it effectively and come back in right on beat. Much of the time I will be playing right along with the other musicians in the symphony of life called the church, and every note I produce should blend well with the other notes in the song.

In 1 Corinthians 12 we read:

¹⁴Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" ²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

As I consider the application to music and to my life I could ask, "if the alto should say, 'because I am not a soprano, I do not belong to the choir,' would she for that reason cease to be part of the choir?" Or "if the baritone should say, 'because I am not a tenor, I do not belong to the choir,' would he for that reason cease to be part of the choir? "Each voice has value and we should all praise God for giving us a part to sing in His song.

Verse 26 reminds us that ^"If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." Sometimes a member of the group will be out of tune or make a mistake or be unable to preform because of an illness. When that happens the whole choir is affected. If one member is singing out of tune others may follow. If one member is in error the whole company sounds bad. If one member becomes ill the others will miss and grieve for their fellow musician.

Thankfully the Master Composer has a plan to rescue us from our discord. He knows that none of us is perfect so he sent his perfect Son Jesus to sing a flawless song. Jesus was punished for our imperfections and payed the penalty we deserve. But because his song was perfect He was restored to his proper place at the Great Conductor's right hand. Now if we will trust in him he will cover all of our mistakes with his blamelessly beautiful music.* "So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:28)

So you see, all of life's a song and I want mine to ring with beautiful harmonies. Praise be to God for sending Jesus to tune my heart and transform my life song.

*If you do not yet know Jesus as your Savior please ask me to explain this more clearly.

White Noise (A Lesson from My Hair Dryer)

Yes, this is a picture of me drying my hair. I smiled for the camera! This morning I was praying during this everyday activity, and a few thoughts occurred to me. It may seem like my mind was wondering, but the ideas are worth pondering.

When the hairdryer is running and humming in my ear my husband will sometimes try to begin a conversation with me from across the room. I find this aggravating because I can't hear him. I was thinking about how great it is that I can talk to God and he can hear me no matter what noise is going on around me. The more I thought about it though I realized; if I were to say something to my husband while I am drying my hair he would probably hear me because the sound of the device is not so close to him. I began to wonder, "can I hear God when I pray through the white noise of life"? . Hopefully I can hear him speak to me through the sounds in my ears, but how much white noise in my heart do I try to converse with him through? Am I really trying to have a conversation, or is it mostly just one-sided babbling?

Last Friday the scenario occurred that I previously mentioned. I got aggravated because I couldn't hear my husband and he stopped trying to communicate with me. After a while I decided what I really needed was to just spend some time with him; time with no interruptions or distractions or loud noises interfering with our communication. I took him by the hand and began walking toward the living room, the one room in our house that is usually free of messes and clutter. I was glad that he was willing to go with me, glad that he was willing to put aside what he was doing. We sat on the sofa and talked. We simply engaged in two-way conversation; the kind where each person has a chance to share their thoughts and ideas. It was refreshing and restorative. The tension dispersed. We were able to connect.

Oh, how many times my conversations with God take place with the hum of a million thoughts bouncing around in my head. I am not really listening, I'm just talking endlessly. How many times I say what I need to say but the white noise in my heart drowns out His response. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with praying while I go about the activities of my day, it's scriptural: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "pray continually;" those two words must be important, they make up the entire verse. I do hear Him speak to me during the daily activities of life, but my focus here is the importance of setting aside times just to spend with God. We should always be in fellowship and communion with Him, but sometimes that is all we should be doing. What better way is there to be refreshed and restored, to release tension, and to really connect with our Creator, our Father, our God?

My Son

My son is a boy who is fast becoming a man.
My son does not ask the question, but reaches out to see how I will respond.
I fail the test.
He wants to know, "Am I important? Will you stop what you are doing just to spend some time with me?"
I go on about my task thinking that there will be time for that later.
I have it backwards.
My task will be there later, but my son will have taken flight.
I will always have those "other things" to do.
Someday I will be reaching out; I may not ask the question but will look for a response.
I will want to know, "Am I important? Will you stop what you are doing just to spend some time with me?"
My son may fail the test;
Not because he lacks the skill or knowledge required to pass it, but because he is following my example...
My example...
My example...
What kind of example am I for my son?
My words mean little, my intentions nothing; if they are not lived out in my example.
My son, I will stop what I am doing.
I am grateful for your hand reaching out for me.
You are my teacher.
You are important.
You are My Son.
I love you!

dedicated to Cody
by: Mom

Ears to Hear

It was a Wednesday morning when I felt the sore throat coming on; by Thursday night my right ear was so congested I couldn't hear properly. Saturday it started to hurt and I tried to get in to see the doctor on call, but that didn't work out. Monday I went to the doctor concerned about my hearing. By this time I had lost my voice and was communicating in squeaks. I was hoping and praying that my voice and hearing would be back by Saturday because I was scheduled to be on the worship team at church. I always look forward to participating in Saturday's practice with the band and Sunday's worship service, so I dreaded having to call and say I was sick. An ear infection, at least, would have been easy to treat with antibiotics, but alas, the doctor concluded that was not my condition. I was told to take decongestants and was given a prescription for an antibiotic to take if things got worse.

Well, I wouldn't necessarily say that the ear got worse, but by Wednesday I was getting desperate and started the antibiotic. All that pressure in my ear combined with the hearing difficulties and my expectations for the weekend was driving me crazy. To my dismay the antibiotic was ineffective, and Saturday morning my ear was still blocked with congestion. The blessing in all of this was that my voice had returned, unfortunately I was still so worried about my ear that I forgot just how grateful I should have been. I went to practice having decided to give it my best try. Practice went alright. I was uncomfortable and insecure, but by the end of practice the team didn't seem to think the ear would be a problem. They said they would pray for me and one friend even said not to be surprised when I woke up in the morning without the congestion. I had high hopes, and I prayed, but I lacked the necessary faith. Oh, I believed that God could heal my ear on the spot, but I doubted that it was His will to do so. I believe that God is benevolent, and works all things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28), but maybe healing my ear prematurely wasn't what He had in mind for me.

I woke up at 6:30 Sunday morning so I would have plenty of time to get ready and be at church by 8:00. My ear was still blocked. I thought maybe it would clear up in the shower. I thought maybe the trip over the mountain would force it open. I thought maybe God would wait until the last minute to open it so that it would be unmistakable that it was opened by Him in answer to prayer. By this time I had at least realized that I had not given him the glory he deserved for the return of my voice. I asked for forgiveness for whining and complaining about my ear when I should have been giving thanks for my voice. I asked for an opportunity to share this insight with the team. The opportunity was presented that morning and I was thankful for it. My ear remained blocked throughout practice and the service, but I was able to sing God's praise despite the obstacle, and for that I was truly grateful.

I realized later that day that God had answered my prayer. My real desire was to be able to sing. He gave me my voice back, but allowed the complication with my ear to remain. He caused me to succeed despite the difficulty. God always answers prayer. He doesn't always answer the way we think we want Him to, but he answers. I'm glad that in His sovereignty He gives me what I need instead of what I think I want. I would be in trouble over some of the things that I ask for if God always said yes. I can't see what the outcome of my requests would be, but He can. The apostle Paul prayed three times for a "thorn in his flesh" to be removed. I don't know what his affliction was, but I know what God's response was: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

To be honest, I do not particularly enjoy hardship, in fact I usually protest with all my might. Paul learned to say, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (*verses 9-10). I thank God for allowing me to be used for His purpose despite all of my weaknesses and shortcomings. I may not very easily see my flaws as a blessing, but they have a purpose. Paul knew why his thorn was there: "To keep [him] from becoming conceited" (*verse 7)

Thank You Lord for keeping things in perspective for me. It's all about you, and I feel privileged that you would work in and through me. Thank you for making me your child. Thank you for allowing me to minister to others through Bible teaching, music, and sharing personal experiences. I pray that you would cause your family to grow through these ministries. In Jesus precious name, amen.

My dear friends, if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please ask me or someone else who knows Him to introduce you. He is waiting for you to invite Him into your life.

* 2 Corinthians 12

What's That Smell?

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting at the piano practicing my primitive skills and trying to acquire some new ones when I was confronted by an unpleasant odor. The most logical thing to do was to check the bathroom just down the hall because the kids had most likely forgotten to flush the toilet again. That was not the problem. After a while I decided that it must be the stagnant water in the fish tank. After all, the fish had not been retrieved before it disappeared into the filter, or where ever it went. I cleaned the entire fish tank and the filter, but there was no improvement in the air of the room. I was puzzled but decided to let it go, maybe it would pass. As the days went by the intensity of the scent increased and I became convinced that a mouse had died somewhere in that vicinity. A search of the piano's interior revealed nothing. Checking behind furniture was fruitless. Perhaps the creature had suffered it's demise in the closet. I had no time at present to clean the closet, I was on my way to work at the music boosters concession stand for the basketball game. I came home that night to an unpleasant welcome; my greeting was the smell of rotting flesh. Yuck! But there were other priorities on my list and I let it go again.

Today is Thursday so I had my first grade Bible class on my mind this morning. I got ready and went to the church early to meet with the other teachers and workers so we could plan for the rest of the school year. I taught the class, and as the kids hurried back to school I rejoiced that the Lord had seen me through a difficult lesson to teach. Coming home to begin some preparation for dinner I was again met at the door by the dreaded stench. As I thought about my friend who had just offered to babysit for me the following night I hated the thought that she would be greeted in this way. I prayed, "Lord please help this smell to disperse quickly." At about the same moment I looked up (I believe my eyes were led there by the Father himself) and saw it. There was a pumpkin sitting on the sill. On the outside it looked very much like paper mache, but on the inside it was very much a real pumpkin. I can't quite describe how thankful I was for such an immediate answer to prayer. It is always a blessing to be so reassured that the creator of the universe hears and helps me even in the seemingly ordinary situations in life.

The odor which I presumed to be a dead mouse turned out to be the rotting flesh of a pumpkin. The item that I now believed likely to be hiding in the crawlspace under my feet was actually right there in front of my eyes. It was sitting on the ceramic sill waiting to be easily disposed of. I felt a twinge of sadness as I tossed a child's craft project across the stream and into the woods, however, my joy at having eliminated the source of my torment outweighed my regret. The thing about an odor is that it lingers even after the source has been dealt with. I lit a candle to help out with the remaining offense, but it was a cover up at best. I soon went to the cupboard and found a specialized odor eliminating candle to defeat the smell clinging to the air.

Let's for a moment think of the rotten pumpkin as our sin. Anything we have ever done that is hurtful is sin. God is love and so his greatest commandments are "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself." In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus quoted these words from the old testament. In fact he goes on to say in verse 40, "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Any sin we can think of is ultimately a violation of these two commandments as well as an affront to the very nature of God. We are all guilty of this. In Isaiah 53:6 we find that "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way." If you've ever thought that you are alone in this take heart, we're all in it together. The good news for us is in the second part of that verse, "and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." The "him" is Jesus Christ. He paid the penalty for all of our sins and when we turn to him and trust him as our Savior he eliminates our rotten pumpkins.

Like the lasting stench I dealt with today the consequences of our sin don't always disappear as instantly as the rotten pumpkin, for example: the drug user who turns to Christ is forgiven, but still has an addiction to deal with. There is hope though. Trying to overcome these things on our own is a cover up at best much like my scented candle, but the Holy Spirit has the power to deal with the lingering odor. He will be the odor eliminating candle that will cancel out the habits and addictions that continue to haunt us. He will be the pleasing aroma that spreads through our lives extending to the world around us. He will be with us and help us to confess and repent before another rotten pumpkin begins to wreak havoc in our lives. He will be there to clean up the mess if we fail to throw the pumpkin out before we smell its effect. He will be there reminding us that we are God's children and will someday take up residence in the fragrance filled halls of heaven where no rot or stench will ever accost us again. I am pleased to report that my home now has an inviting fragrance, how much more blessed we are when His fragrance fills our lives.

Time to Make a U turn

Last year about this time I was taking a class called Teaching Children Effectively II through Child Evangelism Fellowship. The focus of the class was learning how to disciple a child who has put their faith in Christ. One of the segments we were required to teach to children was on confession and repentance. We were provided with materials to help us, but I had an experience around that time that became my lesson. Please keep in mind that it was designed and written for children, but it applies to us all.

One night I was driving home from my church in State college. My church is a place I go a lot, so I should certainly know the way home from there. That night it was dark and snowy, and the roads were white. There was snow falling on my windshield, and there had been some road construction so that things didn't quite look the same. Even though I should have known which way to go I let these things confuse me. I made the wrong choice and ended up on the wrong road. I was headed toward Altoona in completely the opposite direction of my house.

We all make wrong choices. The Bible calls the wrong things we do sin. Things like telling lies, hitting people, saying bad words, and sneaking cookies or candy when your parents aren't looking are all sin. Sinning is like getting on the wrong road, it takes you farther away from where you want to be. If you are God's child you should want to get closer to him, but sin takes you in the opposite direction.

I was headed in the opposite direction from my house, so what was I going to do? What would have happened if I had ignored it and just kept going? I would have ended up in Altoona or beyond. It certainly wouldn't have gotten me home. What did I need to do?

The first thing that I had to do was admit that I had made a wrong choice. The Bible says in
1 John 1:9 "if we confess our sins..." (that means if we tell God that we did something wrong) "He will forgive us..." (that means he won't be angry with us anymore). God already knows you sinned, but he wants you to admit that you were wrong.

It didn't take me long to realize I was on the wrong road and admit it, but I was still headed toward Altoona, not home. What else did I need to do? I needed to turn around and go the right direction. If we confess our sin but still keep doing it we are still getting farther away from God. When we turn around and chose to obey God instead of sinning we repent. Can you say that word with me? Repent. When we repent we are going in the right direction getting closer to God. I had to repent.

As soon as I could I turned around and started heading for home. When you are on a highway driving a car like I was you have to wait for an exit ramp before you can turn around. When you are living in a way that displeases God you can turn around right away. First confess (tell God you did something wrong), then repent (start making the choice to obey him).

It was so good to finally get home that night where I felt safe. It is even better to be close to God who made you and loves you and sent his Son to die for you.

If you have never asked Jesus to save you from your sin you haven't gotten on the right road yet. It is impossible to get close to God unless His Son has saved you. If you know you need to ask Jesus to save you from your sin you can talk to Him right now.

Reflections on the Water

As I gaze out of the glass door that leads from my bedroom to the world outside my house, I observe that the earth has been saturated by a heavy and steady rain. The little stream that ordinarily trickles at the side of the yard is gushing this morning. I notice something in the middle of the yard that I have seen before on occasions such as this. There is the suggestion of a stream that winds through the pasture where the ground is low, and when there is enough water it stretches out toward the more constant stream. I can see it running, but it falls short. The ground soaks it up before it ever reaches its destination. On dry days the path it follows is barely visible.

The stream at the side of the yard with its foaming rolling waters has a defined path that it follows. Its source is a spring in the wooded bank, and for most of the year there is at least moisture in its bed. At the bottom of our valley there is a larger creek that faithfully flows through town after town, pasture, field, wood and meadow.

This picture has caused me to reflect on life. That small trail of runoff is a sad sight. It brings to mind Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Praise be to God for sending His Son Jesus to become the bridge by which we may reach our destination which is everlasting life. John 3:16 tells us "for God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The stream is me. As a growing Christian there are times when I am bubbling up to the brim. There are also seasons when all that can be detected is a bit of moisture. Many times I merely trickle. I would like to be more like the creek down in the valley. I know it has times when it is high and times when it is low, but it is always flowing, always moving toward the river.

I love to see water flow. It is one of my favorite parts of nature. I love to hike along a stream and watch the waters tumble and swirl. I praise the Lord that "He who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) He is my source and my supply. The ground will never be able to soak me up completely. I have a guarantee that I will make it to my destination - eternal life with Him!